Audio mixer

ABSTRACT

An audio mixer for mixing audio signals from a plurality of participants, including audio signals of different sample rates; the audio mixer comprising: a plurality of mixing arrangements, each mixing arrangement for a given one of said sample rates; each mixing arrangement comprising: a pre-mixer configured to mix audio signals having the given sample rate; one or more resamplers, each resampler configured to convert pre-mixed audio signals from other mixing arrangements into a signal of the given sample rate; and a post-mixer configured to mix the output of the pre-mixer with the output of each resampler to produce an output at the given sample rate; the audio mixer further comprising a subtractor configured to subtract the participant&#39;s input audio signal from the post-mixed output.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an audio mixer, in particular an audiomixer for mixing audio signals with a range of sample rates.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Conference calls are a common way of enabling virtual meetings to beheld between remote participants. During a conference call betweenremote participants on a variety of devices, the quality of the audiosignal is incredibly important regardless of whether the conference callis audio-only, a video conference, or a combination of both.

With improving technology, the variety of devices used by differentparticipants to access virtual meetings has increased. Differentparticipants of a single virtual meeting or conference call may forexample use one or more of a smartphone, tablet, laptop, video endpointor Lync client to access the meeting.

The purpose of a network audio mixer is to enable audio conferencingfunctionality between the participants.

Each participant of the meeting will contribute an audio stream via themicrophone of their chosen device. This audio stream will be compressedlocally resulting in a stream of Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP)packets.

This is usually achieved by way of a standard audio codec such as G.722or AAC-LD. However, different audio generating/receiving devices arelikely to use different audio sample rates. For example, a high-endvideo conference suite is likely to be configured to send and receivehigher sample rates than a mobile phone. Typically audio compressionstandards in voice-over internet protocol (VOIP) will use sample ratessuch as 8, 16, 32 and 48 Khz.

The audio mixer will mix the packets from all of the participants, andwill send back to each participant a stream of compressed audio packetswhich enable the participant to hear every other participant in theconference apart from themselves.

A schematic diagram of an example of a conventional audio network mixer10 is shown in FIG. 1. Each participant generates an audio stream whichmust be decoded by a decoder 1 a, 1 b, 1 c for that audio stream beforethe audio signals can be mixed. Each audio stream may use a differentsample rate and different audio codec.

Generally, each audio signal therefore also needs to be resampled to acommon format prior to mixing. Each audio stream will therefore passthrough a resampler 2 a, 2 b, 2 c. Once fully decoded and converted(resampled) into a common format, the resampled signals are mixedtogether in a single mixer 3. Usually, the common format used for mixingcorresponds to the highest sample rate used by any of the participants.

For each participant, their own resampled input signal is thensubtracted from the mixed signal to produce an output which must then beconverted back (resampled) into a suitable format to be encoded by aseparate encoder 6 a, 6 b, 6 c for each participant.

In the example shown in FIG. 1, each decoder may be located after ajitter buffer 7 a, 7 b, 7 c.

For a conference with N participants, a conventional audio mixer such asthat of FIG. 1 requires up to N decodes, 2N audio resamplings, and Nencodes. Thus, each “audio path” through the mixer (from the audiosignal sent out by a participant to the audio signal they receive back)typically gets resampled twice which can lead to a loss of quality. Inaddition, resamplers are expensive components which demand a highcomputational load.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention seeks to address the disadvantages associated withthe prior art above by providing, according to a first aspect, an audiomixer for mixing audio signals from a plurality of participants,including audio signals of different sample rates; the audio mixercomprising: a plurality of mixing arrangements, each mixing arrangementfor a given one of said sample rates; each mixing arrangementcomprising: a pre-mixer configured to mix audio signals having the givensample rate, one or more resamplers, each resampler configured toconvert pre-mixed audio signals from other mixing arrangements into asignal of the given sample rate; and a post-mixer configured to mix theoutput of the pre-mixer with the output of each resampler to produce anoutput at the given sample rate; the audio mixer further comprising asubtractor configured to subtract the participant's input audio signalfrom the post-mixed output.

In this way, by binning the audio signals from participants depending ontheir sample rate, a dynamic audio mixer is provided which is capable ofself-collapsing to work at the optimum setting at a given time for thenumber of audio sample rates present in the system (which in turndepends on the range of audio codecs that are inputted at a given time).

The self-collapsing capability is preferably automatic in that the audiomixer may include a means for flagging packets of audio signals with a“mix indicator”, the means for flagging the audio signals being locatedbefore the pre-mixer of the mixing arrangement. The “mix indicator” maybe a flag which indicates that the audio signal should be mixed or maybe a flag which indicates that the audio signal should not be mixed. Ifall of the audio inputs having a given sample rate are flagged as “donot mix” (if, for example they correspond to “null” signals; mutedparticipants; or quiet participants to be filtered out in order toreduce noise), the mixing arrangement for that given sample rate willnot process any information i.e. the audio mixer will “self-collapse” toavoid any unnecessary processing at that sample rate. In addition, theaudio mixer of the present invention advantageously reduces the numberof resampling steps that each stream of audio data is subjected to.Since resampling leads to a loss in quality, the audio mixer of thepresent invention results in an improvement in audio quality.

The number of resamplers of the audio mixer of the present invention isdependent upon the number of sample rates. M rather than the number ofparticipants, N. This is particularly advantageous when more than 4participants are present.

For a conventional network mixer such as that shown in FIG. 1, samplingmust be carried out at the highest supported sample rate, even if noparticipants operating at that sample rate are actually participating.In the present invention there is no requirement for such unnecessaryre-sampling.

Optional features of the invention will now be set out. These areapplicable singly or in any combination with any aspect of theinvention.

Preferably, the audio mixer further comprises a selection arrangementconfigured to select a post-mixed output for a participant correspondingto an output sample rate chosen by the participant.

The sample rate “chosen” by the participant will correspond to thesample rate of the audio codecs supported by the participant's deviceand is usually automatic. The sample rate of the participants inputaudio signal will usually have the same sample rate as the output audiosignal/stream which is returned. However, this may not always be thecase. For example, asymmetric audio streams may be required where thenetwork used by the participant is itself asymmetric.

The “choice” of sample rate made by the participant's device may varyover the time of the conference call. For example, deterioration of thenetwork used by the participant or a fault in the device could cause thedevice to utilise an audio codec with a greater redundancy and adifferent sampling rate.

The dynamic nature of the audio system means that it is able to adaptduring use, to the demands of the participants as they change over theduration of the conference. In particular to any change in the the audiocodec selection or “choice” by the participant throughout the call. If achange in the audio codec results in a change in the sample rate ofaudio packets the signal will be routed via the decoder to a differentpre-mixer. This may mean that extra or fewer processing steps arerequired depending on the sample rates of the audio codecs used by allof the other participants.

Preferably, the selection arrangement comprises a mix selector locatedbefore the subtractor; the mix selector configured to receive the outputof each post-mixer of the audio mixer and to select the post-mixedsignal which corresponds to the output sample rate chosen by theparticipant.

Preferably, the audio mixer comprises a further resampler located beforethe subtractor, the further resampler configured to convert theparticipant's input signal from the input sample rate to the outputsample rate if the participant chooses an output sample rate which isdifferent to their input sample rate.

This means that each constituent audio stream is resampled either onceor not at all. This differs from the conventional audio mixer describedabove in relation to FIG. 1 in which each constituent audio stream isalways resampled twice.

In the audio mixer of the present invention, where the sample rates ofinput and output audio signals used by a participant are symmetric, theaudio stream will not include a resampling step. Where the sample ratesof input and output audio signals are not symmetric, each component ofthe audio stream will only have experienced one resampling step.

When there are N participants using a total of M different sample rates;the total number of resamplers is no less than M(M−1) and no more thanM(M−1)+N.

Preferably, the audio mixer further comprises a means for categorising aplurality of audio input signals into a plurality of categories, eachcategory corresponding to a supported sample rate.

Preferably, the means for categorising a plurality of audio inputsignals includes a plurality of decoders. The sample rate of eachdecoded audio signal is known because it is determined by thecompression standard used and the decoded outputs of the decoders arerouted to the pre-mixer for the corresponding supported sample rate.

Preferably there is one decoder per participant input.

The means for flagging the audio signals with a “mix indicator” may formpart of the means for categorising the audio signals e.g. the decoder.

Preferably there is one pre-mixer for each supported sample rate and onepost-mixer for each supported sample rate.

Optionally, the audio mixer further comprises a means for assigning arelative volume to one or more audio signals before the signal reachesthe pre-mixer.

Preferably, the different sample rates supported by the system includeone or more of: 8 Khz, 16 Khz, 32 Khz, 48 Khz.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method of mixing audio signals from a plurality of participantsincluding audio signals of different sample rates, the method includingthe steps of: mixing the audio signals from the plurality ofparticipants according to their sample rate by: pre-mixing audio signalsof each sample rate at a sampling-rate specific pre-mixer to give aseparate pre-mixed output for each sample rate present; re-sampling eachpre-mixed output from its sample rate into resampled outputs of each oneor more other sample rates present; post-mixing each pre-mixed outputwith each of the one or more resampled signal outputs which have beenconverted into the same sample rate to generate a separate post-mixedoutput for each sample rate the method further comprising the step ofsubtracting the participant's input audio signal from the post-mixedoutput.

The advantages and preferable features discussed in relation to thefirst aspect apply to the corresponding method which forms the secondaspect. In particular:

Preferably, the method further comprises the step of selecting apost-mixed output corresponding to an output sample rate chosen by theparticipant.

Preferably a mix selector chooses the post-mixed output corresponding tothe output sample rate chosen by the participant before theparticipant's input audio signal is subtracted.

Preferably, the participant's own audio input is resampled to the outputsample rate chosen by the participant before subtraction if theparticipant's chosen output sample rate is different from theparticipant's input sample rate,

Preferably, the method further comprises a step of flagging the audiosignal of a participant with a mix indicator, before the audio signalreaches the mixing step.

Preferably, the method further comprises the step of categorising aplurality of audio input signals into a plurality of categories, eachcategory corresponding to a supported sample rate.

Preferably, the step of categorising the plurality of audio inputsignals includes decoding each audio signal and based on the sample rateof the decoded signal, routing each decoded signal to the pre-mixer forsignals of that sample rate.

The means for flagging the audio signals with a “mix indicator” may formpart of the characterisation stage. As the software of the audio mixerloops through each decoder it may assign each packet with a “mixindicator” flag as well as a flag which indicates the sample rate of thesignal and therefore determines to which pre-mixer the audio signal isrouted.

Preferably the method further comprises the step of assigning a relativevolume to one or more audio signals before the signal reaches thepre-mixer.

Preferably the different sample rates supported by the method includeone or more of: 8 Khz, 16 Khz, 32 Khz, 48 Khz.

Further optional features of the invention are set out below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows a schematic of a prior art audio mixer as described above;and

FIG. 2 shows a schematic of an audio mixer according to the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION AND FURTHER OPTIONAL FEATURES OF THE INVENTION

An audio mixer, specifically a network audio mixer according to thepresent invention is shown in FIG. 2.

The audio mixer 100 is made up of a plurality of mixing arrangements 30a, 30 b, 30 c each of which mix audio signals of a particular samplerate. The audio mixer shown in FIG. 2 includes three separate mixingarrangements: a first pre-mixer, second pre-mixer and a third pre-mixer.However, would be clear to the skilled person that a corresponding audiomixer could be made with only two separate mixing arrangements, or withfour or more mixing arrangements.

Each mixing arrangement 30 a, 30 b, 30 c corresponds to a given samplerate such as 8, 16, 32 or 48 KHz and comprises a pre-mixer 31 a, 31 b,31 c which is configured to mix audio signals having that given samplerate. For example, if the first mixing arrangement 30 a corresponds to amixing arrangement for audio signals having a first sample rate of 8KHz, the corresponding first pre-mixer will mix only audio signalshaving a sample rate of 8 KHz. In fact, in the embodiment shown in FIG.2, each pre-mixer is configured to mix all of the audio input signalswith its given sample rate and only the audio signals with that givensample rate.

After pre-mixing by the pre-mixers 31 a, 31 b, 31 c of each mixingarrangement 30 a, 30 b, 30 c, the output of each of the pre-mixers isconverted to

If there are M sample rates supported by the audio mixer system, eachmixing arrangement 30 a, 30 b, 30 c will include M−1 resamplers 21 a, 21b, 22 a, 22 b, 23 a and 23 b, each resampler being configured to convertthe pre-mixed signal at its input into an audio signal of one of theother one or more sample rates present (i.e. one of the other samplerates used by one or more of the participants of the meeting).

Each mix arrangement 30 a, 30 b, 30 c also includes a post-mixer 32 a,32 b, 32 c located after the pre-mixer and after the resamplers. Eachpost-mixer is configured to mix the output of the correspondingpre-mixer 31 a, 31 b, 31 c together with the output of each resamplerthat produces an output converted into the given sample rate. Theproduced a mixed output containing all of the audio streams entered intothe audio mixer 100.

For example, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the first mixarrangement 30 a includes: a first pre-mixer 31 a which pre-mixes audiosignals having a first given sample rate; two re-samplers 21 a, 22 awhich convert each of the pre-mixed signals of other sampling rates intopre-mixed signals of the first given sample rate; and a first post-mixer32 a which mixes the output of the first pre-mixer 31 with the output ofboth of the resamplers, to produce an output at the first given samplerate.

For each participant, the audio mixer 100 also includes a subtractor 41a, 42 a, 43 a, 41 b, 42 b, 43 b, 41 c, 42 c, 43 c located after thepost-mixer. Each subtractor subtracts the participants own input signalfrom the post-mixed output.

For each participant (i.e, in each “audio stream”) the audio mixer 100also includes a selection arrangement (e.g. 91 a and 93 c) locatedbetween the post-mixers and the subtractor of that audio stream. Eachselection arrangement is made up of a mix selector 81 a, 82 a, 83 a, 81b, 82 b, 83 b, 81 c, 82 c, 83 c and a resampler 51 a, 52 a, 53 a, 51 b,52 b, 53 b, 51 c, 52 c, 53 c. The outputs of each post-mixer of theaudio mixer are input into each mix selector and the mix selector isconfigured to select which post-mixed signal is sent to the subtractorbased on which sample rate the participant requires.

The purpose of the resampler 51 a, 52 a, 53 a, 51 b, 52 b, 53 b, 51 c,52 c, 53 c located within the selection arrangement is to convert thesample rate of the participant's own input signal if required. Thispre-subtraction resampler will only be necessary if the output requiredby the participant is different to their input.

The output of this pre-subtraction resampler is then routed to thesubtractor where it is subtracted from the post-mixed signal which hasbeen chosen by the mix selector 81 a, 82 a, 83 a, 81 b, 82 b, 83 b, 81c, 82 c, 83 c.

As with the conventional audio mixer shown in FIG. 1, the audio mixer ofthe present invention decodes the audio signals from the participantsbefore mixing and re-encodes the resultant mixed output signals. In theembodiment shown in FIG. 2 each audio stream includes a separate decoder11 a, 12 a, 13 a, 11 b, 12 b, 13 b, 11 c, 12 c, 13 c before the relevantpre-mixer and each audio stream includes a separate encoder 61 a, 62 a,63 a, 61 b, 62 b, 63 b, 61 c, 62 c, 63 c after the correspondingsubtractor of that audio stream 41 a, 42 a, 43 a, 41 b, 42 b, 43 b, 41c, 42 c, 43 c.

As well as decoding the audio input signal from the participant, thedecoder acts as a means for categorising the plurality of audio inputsignals into categories corresponding to their sample rate. Thus, at thedecoding stage, the audio input signals are sorted before being routedto the relevant pre-mixer for that given sample rate. The decoder may beconfigured to tag the audio signal with metadata labelling it with itsthe sample rate.

Each audio signal is passed through a Jitter buffer before it reachesthe decoder.

The audio mixer 100 may include a means (not shown) for assigning avolume tag to an audio signal as it passes through the “audio stream”.This means for assigning a volume tag is preferably located before themixing arrangement so that the mixing arrangement(s) can be configuredto process audio signals depending upon their volume tag. For example,the mixing arrangement may be configured to process only the audiosignals which are above a cut-off point, the cut-off point for examplebeing a rank position relative to the volume of the other audio signalsin other streams.

Such volume-based filtering is particularly useful where there are alarge number or users (e.g. 4 or more users). By filtering out all butthe loudest participants at any given time the unwanted noise isreduced. The participants which fall within the loudest and are notfiltered out will change constantly during the call as the conversationshifts from some participants to others. As the loudest participantschange, the sample rates of the audio input signals may change. Thedynamic nature of the audio mixer of the present invention means that nore-configuration of the system is necessary, the system willautomatically adjust and process the signals via the relevant mixingarrangements for the sample rates present.

Audio signals are naturally split into packets of audio data, forexample packets of 20 ms duration that will be processed by the softwareof the audio mixer.

In use the audio mixer is run periodically and there are three mainsoftware loops via which the packets of data are processed. Other loopsmay also be included to add extra features. The periodicity of the audiomixer is usually chosen to run at the same rate so that the audio datais processed in “chunks” which correspond to the duration discretepackets of the audio data from the participants. It is possible tocalibrate an audio mixer to operate at higher or lower periodicities,higher periodicities (lower chunk size) reducing latency and lowerperiodicities (greater chunk size) increasing efficiency. However, thereis no advantage to using a periodicity which is less than the durationof the audio packets which are input into the decoder (which in turndepends on the audio codec used by the participants).

The first of the three main loops occurs at the decoder stage. At thisstage, the audio signals arrive in discrete packets of audio data (e.g.20 ms long). The software will iterate through each decoder at whichpoint each input is characterised by its sample rate and routed to thepre-mixer corresponding to that sample rate.

As described above, each pre-mixer mixes all of the audio signals havingthe given sample rate. The pre-mixing step comes before any resamplingsteps.

The second main loop of the software corresponds to a “cross resample”phase where each pre-mixed stream is resampled to each other sample rateand the results are mixed to produce final streams at each sample rate.The software iterates through each post-mixer, at each iterationperforming this mixing of the output of the pre-mixer of a given samplerate with the output of any of the one or more resamplers which haveconverted another pre-mixed signal into the given sample rate.

The number of steps that must be carried out by each post-mixer (e.g.the number of resampling operations) depends on the number of samplerates present, M not on the number of participants present, N.

The third main loop of the software occurs at the output of the systemat which point the software iterates through each output generating anoutput audio signal/output stream for each participant. At this point,the post-mix output with the appropriate sample rate (i.e. that chosenby the participant) is selected and the input stream is resampled ifrequired and subtracted off. In this last step the input stream is onlyresampled if required i.e. if the input and output sample rates for aparticipant are different, which is typically not the case as mostconference participants use symmetric audio codecs (the same audio codecfor transmit and receive).

Other software loops may, for example, include the step of ordering theaudio signals by relative volume.

The configuration and method of operation of the audio mixer of thepresent invention results in an audio mixer which is capable ofself-collapsing/self-optimisation by utilising only the componentsnecessary based on the sample rates of audio signals present (inputand/or output) at any given time. If there are no audio input signals oroutputs signals of a specific sample frequency the audio mixer does nothave to waste resources in performing the parts of the process thatrelate to that specific sample frequency.

The control over which parts of the audio mixer are either utilised orcollapsed at any given time may be controlled by the use of flags whichlabel the audio signal with a mix identifier before the mixing step(i.e. before the respective mixing arrangements). A mix indicator suchas a “do not mix” flag could be used to tag the audio signal duringcategorisation of the audio input signals. The flag could be applied,for example, because the conference leader has decided to mute theparticipant; because the participant has decided to mute themselves; orbecause the participant did not speak.

The audio mixer may also include an ordering means for ordering theaudio input signals by relative volume. This may involve an extrasoftware loop which takes place before the mixing step. Such a loop mayreorder the audio signals by comparing the volume of each input againstthe loudest audio input. The software may then apply a mix indicatorsuch as a “do not mix” flag to all audio signals below a given relativethreshold (e.g. below the nth loudest where n could be any positiveinteger e.g. 4).

As the levels of participation and volume of participants varythroughout the conference and as different participants enter and leavethe conference, the audio mixer of the present invention will adjustitself automatically. The step of mixing the audio signals at each ofthe mixing arrangements may include a step of checking whether or not“mix indicators” are present in metadata which forms part of the audiosignals. If a “do not mix” flag is used to label all of the audiosignals having a given sample rate, the mix arrangement corresponding tothat sample rate will not process any signals. As the relative volumesof participants vary over time, the mix indicators will vary and,depending on the sample rates used by the participants contributing atany given time, the number of mix arrangements which are utilised orcollapsed at any given time will therefore also vary.

This differs to the situation in a conventional system such as that ofFIG. 1. In the system of FIG. 1, the architecture is not configured toenable a dymanic set up. As discussed previously, the usual procedurefor a system such as that of FIG. 1 is to ensure that all audio inputsignals get up-sampled to the maximum possible sample rate regardless ofwhether or not any of the participants actually use that sample rate. Analternative would be to configure the FIG. 1 system to work at themaximum sample rate of the participants that are actually present butthen to reconfigure the system when a participant with a higher samplerate joins the conference, and reconfigure it again when they leave.Neither prior art scenario is ideal in terms of efficiency or in termsof ease of use.

While the invention has been described in conjunction with the exemplaryembodiments described above, many equivalent modifications andvariations will be apparent to those skilled in the art when given thisdisclosure. Accordingly, the exemplary embodiments of the invention setforth above are considered to be illustrative and not limiting. Variouschanges to the described embodiments may be made without departing fromthe spirit and scope of the invention.

All references referred to above are hereby incorporated by reference.

1. An audio mixer for mixing audio signals from a plurality ofparticipants, including audio signals of different sample rates; theaudio mixer comprising: a plurality of mixing arrangements, each mixingarrangement for a given one of said sample rates; each mixingarrangement comprising: a pre-mixer configured to mix audio signalshaving the given sample rate; one or more resamplers, each resamplerconfigured to convert pre-mixed audio signals from other mixingarrangements into a signal for the given sample rate; and a post mixerconfigured to mix the output of the pre-mixer with the output of eachresampler to produce an output at the given sample rate; and asubtractor configured to subtract the participant's input audio signalfrom the post-mixed output.
 2. The audio mixer of claim 1, furthercomprising a selection arrangement configured to select a post-mixedoutput for a participant corresponding to an output sample rate chosenby the participant.
 3. The audio mixer of claim 2, wherein the selectionarrangement comprises a mix selector located before the subtractor; themix selector configured to receive the output of each post-mixer of theaudio mixer and to select the post-mixed signal which corresponds to theoutput sample rate chosen by the participant.
 4. The audio mixer ofclaim 2, wherein the audio mixer comprises a further resampler locatedbefore the subtractor, the further resampler configured to convert theparticipant's input signal from the input sample rate to the outputsample rate if the participant chooses an output sample rate which isdifferent to their input sample rate.
 5. The audio mixer of claim 1,further comprising means for flagging the audio signal of a participantwith a mix indicator, the means for flagging the audio signal beinglocated before the plurality of mixing arrangements.
 6. The audio mixerof claim 1, further comprising means for categorizing a plurality ofaudio input signals into a plurality of categories, each categorycorresponding to a supported sample rate.
 7. The audio mixer of claim 3,wherein the means for categorizing a plurality of audio input signalsincludes a plurality of decoders; and wherein the decoded outputs of thedecoders are routed to the pre-mixer for the supported sample rate. 8.The audio mixer of claim 1, further comprising means for assigning arelative volume tag to one or more audio signals before the signalreaches the pre-mixer.
 9. The audio mixer of claim 1, wherein thedifferent sample rates supported by the system include one or more of: 8Khz, 16 Khz, 32 Khz, 48 Khz.
 10. A method of mixing audio signals from aplurality of participants including audio signals of different samplerates, the method including: mixing the audio signals from the pluralityof participants according to their sample rate by: pre-mixing audiosignals of each sample rate at a sampling-rate specific pre-mixer togive a separate pre-mixed output for each sample rate present;re-sampling each pre-mixed output from its sample rate into resampledoutputs of each one or more other sample rates present; post-mixing eachpre-mixed output with each of the one or more resampled signal outputswhich have been converted into the same sample rate to generate aseparate post-mixed output for each sample rate subtracting theparticipant's input audio signal from the post-mixed output.
 11. Themethod of claim 10, further selecting a post-mixed output correspondingto an output sample rate chosen by the participant.
 12. The method ofclaim 11, further comprising a mix selector selecting the post-mixedoutput corresponding to the output sample rate chosen by the participantbefore the participant's input audio signal is subtracted.
 13. Themethod of claim 12, wherein the participant's own audio input isresampled to the output sample rate chosen by the participant beforesubtraction if the participant's chosen output sample rate is differentfrom the participant's input sample rate.
 14. The method of claim 13,further comprising flagging the audio signal of a participant with a mixindicator, before the audio signal reaches the mixing step.
 15. Themethod of claim 10, further comprising categorizing a plurality of audioinput signals into a plurality of categories, each categorycorresponding to a supported sample rate.
 16. The method of claim 15,wherein categorizing the plurality of audio input signals includesdecoding each audio signal and based on the sample rate of the decodedsignal, routing each decoded signal to the pre-mixer for signals of thatsample rate.
 17. The method of claim 10, further comprising assigning arelative volume tag to one or more audio signals before the signalreaches the pre-mixer.
 18. The method of claim 10, wherein the differentsample rates supported include one of more of: 8 Khz, 16 Khz, 32 Khz, 48Khz.
 19. (canceled)
 20. An apparatus comprising: a plurality of mixerunits for a given one of a plurality of sample rates associated withrespective ones of a plurality of participants in a conference; eachmixer unit including: a pre-mixer configured to mix audio signals havingthe given sample rate; one or more resamplers, each resampler configuredto convert pre-mixed audio signals from other mixing arrangements into asignal for the given sample rate; and a post mixer configured to mix theoutput of the pre-mixer with the output of each resampler to produce anoutput at the given sample rate; and a subtractor configured to subtractthe participant's input audio signal from the post-mixed output.
 21. Theapparatus of claim 20, further comprising a selector configured toselect a post-mixed output for a participant corresponding to an outputsample rate chosen by the participant.